Brasserie Zédel - review

This time last week I went to Brasserie Zédel, and had such a great time that I was determined to write a long, elegiac (rambling) piece (love letter) on France, the French, the intrinsic nostalgia of French food, the cult of the Brasserie and the egalitarianism of prix fixe menus. Pourquoi pas? Then I smashed through the Times paywall on Sunday morning to get my weekly hit of AA Gill’s writing, and guess what? He’d done it. Right there. The whole thing, and obviously better than I ever could. He had concluded, as I was going to (I promise), by saying that the food good, but the atmosphere is exceptional. I had the best evening I’ve had in a long time with great friends in the American bar and then the hyperbolically French, gold and marble restaurant. So did Gill (although he probably spent less time in the bar). I’d love to say, in the manner of an Olympian hero, that I have now challenged myself to write something better and more interesting, but I haven’t.

So that’s that.

What I can tell you is that this place is incredible, even if you’re not obsessed with French things. I know that because the people I went with are, if anything, anti-French. Or that’s how it appears from their attempts at speaking the language.

The bar is dark, low, elegant and timeless. I mean that in both the sense that it could be any year from 1950 to the present and it also could be any time of day or night from 5pm onwards. You could get seriously drunk in there. That night, due to my surroundings and also the martinis, I felt a lot like James Bond. Always my favourite type of evening.

The dining room is vast, double height, and sparkles with gold rails and soft lights. The menu is fantastic, with the aforementioned formules à prix fixe (set menus) meaning you could do it very cheaply. Starters on the main menu are mostly between 3-6 pounds, with main courses around the 12 pounds mark. This is sensible pricing for sensible food. There is nothing that is going to blow you away with creativity, but there will be something that all of you remember from a family holiday, interailing expedition, roadside café, trip to Paris, French exchange, a film or even just Encore Tricolore 3.

I had snails which were slightly muddy (but then they’re always really just the vehicle through which pots of melted garlic butter can be delivered to your table without judgement, aren’t they?) and then onglet (hanger steak) in a thick, glossy wine sauce with great chips. We had lots of good red wine. Nothing ground breaking, but I have eaten the exact same meal in France at least 5 times and I mean that in the best, best possible way.

For the record, the most successful starter by far was the oysters (fines de claire - £1.95 a piece) which were exceptionally fresh, and the stand out main course was the confit de canard. We emerged into the Soho night, tipsy, happy and emotional (not me) and were quickly swallowed by a basement margarita bar on Brewer Street. Bien sur.

It came out at £40 a head, excluding martinis.
www.brasseriezedel.com